Accretion Disks

Disk accretion powers many astronomical objects. Most interacting binaries and many pre-main sequence stars contain rapidly-evolving disks. More slowly-evolving, dusty disks orbit the Sun and β Pic. A supermassive black hole surrounded by an enormous gaseous disk lies at the center of every AGN or quasar. SSP scientists use observations and theoretical models to learn how the central stars and the disks evolve with time.